► Readers Say

Executive Edition rules

“Shop-Eat-Surf” is now officially, the first stop in the morning for industry news. Accurate reporting, no sensationalism, and just the facts. Refreshing support to an incredible industry with a very bright future. Tiffany has cemented her role in the industry....the site is thought provoking, and inspirational. Learning the stories of others is incredibly useful. Great way to connect the retail community with the wholesale and financial, instantly and nationwide. ... And the Executive Edition rules.

- By Bob Hurley, Chairman, Hurley International

The one, undisputed leader

It is common knowledge in our industry that there is one undisputed leader in reporting on the topics, businesses and trends that impact all of us the most, and it is shop-eat-surf.com. Their access to those who make our industry happen is second to none, and we value not only the content of their reporting but the editorial thought on what it all means both in the present as well as the future. If we were asked to give a rating, it would be five out of five stars.

Accessory sales declined 10.6% to $501 million in 2010. Sunglasses, hats and duffel bags/backpacks contributed the most to sales.

Hardgoods equipment sales grew 35% to $1.46 billion in 2010. The rise of the SUP market and the higher price points helped boost those figures.

Regionally, while the West is still the dominant region for sales, the percentage of total sales in the West declined to 47% in 2010 from 52% in 2008.

Sales in the South as a percentage of the total increased to 29% from 26% in 2008.

Midwest sales accounted for 10% of the total, up from 8% in 2008.

The Northeast remained flat at 14% of total industry sales.

When looking at the West Coast and East Coast, the percentage of sales became closer over the time period, with West Coast sales accounting for 38% of the total in 2010 and East Coast accounting for 33%.

While a 13.5% decline for the overall core surf and skate market is not good news, SIMA President Doug Palladini provided some statistics from other industries to put the numbers in context.

Snowsports: down 5.9

Autos: down 21%

Apparel: down 5.2 %

Box office: down 5.2%

Music: down 12.8%

Leisure Trends estimates the total size of the surf and skate market at retail is $6.24 billion, including national chain stores and other large retailers. That figure is down 13.6% from 2008 and is smaller than the $6.52 billion total size of market in 2004.

Leisure Trends conducted the survey in January and February of this year. The results included results from 392 retailers who were interviewed by telephone.